THE DEVIL'S RED NICKEL North Atlantic Books/Frog, Ltd. Trade paperback: October 2005 ISBN 1-58394-135-5 The music spelled freedom for a young black man in the early 1960s: the doo-wop singers and dance rhythms that sailed west on a powerful A.M. radio signal from Chicago. CJ Floyd is not as young or carefree as he once was. But a certain wisdom has come with the years, and cruising in his '57 Bel Air, CJ can still get off on the doo-wop sound -- until it comes to him with a backbeat of murder. For CJ, the case begins when a beautiful black woman hires him to look into the death of her father, one LeRoy Polk, a.k.a. Daddy Doo-Wop, a famous Chicago D.J. Sleek, smart, and hard-driving Clothilde Polk is sure her father did not die of the heart attack doctors first suspected. CJ agrees to investigate. Before long, he realizes that the death of Daddy Doo-Wop is part of a bigger story, one that reaches back to Chicago in the fifties when the Mob called the tune. From payola to paychecks, from the dirtiest of deals to some old tapes that still might be worth gold, CJ is entering into a realm where a great melody can lead to a deadly refrain, and where someone has a murderous hit parade of his own. From a family-run soul food joint to the glimmering grass of Mile High Stadium, from a bail jumper's funny trail of funny money to the parched plains around Pueblo, The Devil's Red Nickel is a mystery that's as original as its unconventional investigator and as startling as the squeal of brakes in the neon night. In it, CJ Floyd is an authentic American Hero -- a man of honor and action as unforgettable as a song that won't leave your heart. Read an excerpt. Buy the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Indiebound, or an independent mystery bookstore. PRAISE "There are other fine series set in Denver, but this one is already the class of the field."     —Booklist "The energy just leaps off the page... The characters are well-drawn, his scenarios compelling and evocative -- think of Dashiell Hammet and Chester Himes in a pickup truck."     —Austin Chronicle "Jam-packed with action and characters and local color... The plot rips along so quickly, you just plunge ahead with the hope that Greer will pull it all together for you later... lively and intricate and rich in detail... one heckuva ride."     —Mostly Murder